Once Upon A Time – Dec. 11 – 1825 – Nigerian Samuel Ajayi Crowther Is Baptized At Age 16,  Becomes 1st Anglican Bishop Of West Africa

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore at in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [NS, Dec 21]

1792 France’s King Louis XVI goes on trial, accused of high treason and crimes against the state

1825 Samuel Adjai Crowther is baptized at the age of sixteen. Recently a slave, he will become the first Anglican bishop of West Africa.

1913 “Mona Lisa” recovered 2 years after it was stolen from the Louvre Museum

1931 Statute of Westminster gives complete legislative independence to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland (Free State), and Newfoundland (not then part of Canada)

1936 Edward VIII announces in a radio broadcast that he is abdicating the British throne to marry Wallis Simpson

1946 UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) established (Nobel 1965)

1997 Delegates from 150 industrial nations attending a UN climate conference in Kyoto, Japan, reach agreement to control heat-trapping greenhouse gases

Today’s Historical Events
Today in Film & TV
1967 “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, premieres in NYC (Hepburn – Academy Award for Best Actress 1968)

Today in Music
1946 Hank Williams begins to record on Sterling label

Today in Sport
1951 Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement from baseball